Great and Holy Saturday Vesperal Hymns
Categories: hymns, prayer, feast-days
Date: 20 April 2009 10:24:39
At the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Great and Holy Saturday [held Saturday morning...time is turned upside down on our journey to Pascha], a sense of joy and truimph arises. The Paschal Greeting, Christ is Risen!, must wait until Saturday night to be uttered, but Christ's conquering of the bars of Hades and His victory over death are sung. More can be read at the article linked, as well as a Google; but for now I thought I'd share some of the hymns from this most joyous, if not long [we only read 3 of the 15 readings...and they are long enough for tired souls as myself], service.
One particular joy I find in the hymography for Great and Holy Saturday is that of the personification of Hades, whose finds himself surprised that while he thought he swallowed a man, he found he had swallowed God, whom he was unable to contain.
Today Hades cries out groaning, "Would that I had not received the One born of Mary; for He came upon me and loosed my power. He shattered the gates of brass; the souls, which I held captive of old, as God He raised up." Glory, O Lord, to Your Cross and Your Resurrection.
Today Hades cries out groaning, "My authority is dissolved; I received a mortal, as one of the mortals; but this one, I am powerless to contain; with Him I lose all those over which I had ruled. For ages I held the dead, but behold, He raised up all." Glory, O Lord, to Your Cross and Your Resurrection.
Today Hades cries out groaning, "My power has been trampled on; the Shepherd has been crucified, and Adam He raised up. I have been deprived of those over whom I ruled; and all those I had the power to swallow I have disgorged. He, Who was crucified, has cleared the tombs. The dominion of death is no more." Glory, O Lord, to Your Cross and Your Resurrection.
The dominion of death is no more. Thanks and praise be to God.
The Icon of the Harrowing of Hades, or The Resurrection as it is sometimes called, shows this destruction of Death and Hades. Christ is victorious, standing on and over the smashed gates of Hades. Underneath, are skulls, representing death, and broken chains and locks, symbolising Christ's smashing of the chains of Death humanity was ensnared in. In what is probably the most obvious aspect, by the wrists, in a forceful action, Christ pulls up Adam and Eve from Death, raising them to Life, for it is not something we can achieve on our own, but only through the work of God in Christ. I also recall reading somewhere [I cannot recall where, sadly] that Adam and Eve are shown in the process of being raised as that is where we are: we are in the process of our journey towards salvation and sanctification -- at each moment in life we can choose by our thoughts, words and deeds to allow Christ to raise us up to New Life in Him. The righteous of the Old Testament are also shown behind Christ and Adam and Eve.